


The Hellride

by khonsu



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Arrow (TV 2012) Season 3, F/M, Post-Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Seven
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2019-10-14 02:11:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17499626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khonsu/pseuds/khonsu
Summary: The League of Assassins trained Xander Harris moves to Starling City and gets engaged with Thea Queen.





	1. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xander meets Thea Queen and gets engaged with her to protect her from the League of Assassins. 
> 
> The story starts after Arrow Season 3 Episode 9. 
> 
> Eliana al Ghul is my creation, but Talia and Nyssa al Ghul have a paternal half-sister, I just gave her a name, personality, and place in the League and in Xander's life.
> 
> This chapter probably will go through drastic changes since my beta-reader has not yet seen it, but the time limit of the draft is today, so I kind of have to publish this now.
> 
> At the start of this story I'm cannibalizing my own (porn) story: [The Fashion Queen Learns her Place](https://www.literotica.com/s/the-fashion-queen-learns-her-place)

**Starling City, 2015 AD**

The music in the bar was loud and booming, and on the dance floor, people appeared to be having spasm attacks. Thea went to the dance floor and joined the people. She loved dancing, loved to let the music wash over her, working its magic with her body. Thea loved the feeling of bodies grinding each other, how they made her feel. When dancing, for a few moments, she was free. 

When he went back to the bar, Thea was feeling slightly lightheaded. 

“How did you do that?” A soft voice said.

Thea turned around to face the speaker. “How I did what?” she asked the dark haired man with an eye-patch taking a sip from her drink.

“Get the attention of the bartender, I’ve tried to do that for a moment, and he seems to look through me.” 

Thea examined him for a moment. He was about ten years older than her, six feet tall, and built like a boxer. His dark brown hairs were hanging in his face, his beard had gray strands peppered throughout, his left eye was covered with a worn-out black eyepatch, and he had the tanned skin of a man who had spent most of his life working outside. 

“It helps when you own the bar,” she said.

“I bet it does,” He said offering his hand to her. “I’m Xander.”

Thea shook the hand. “Thea.”

“So, Thea, would you be kind and use your amazing bar-owner abilities and order me a beer? Lager, but not American, German or Danish. I’m sorry about the unpatriotic choice of beverage, but I’ve been abroad for a long time, and I’ve gotten used to European beer, and I've started to think that Monty Python was right.”

Thea raised her eyebrow. “Monty Python was right in what?”

“That American beer is fucking close to the water.”

Thea chuckled and waved her hand. “A German lager to this gentleman,” she told the bartender and then turned back to Xander. “You know, usually, when I’m hit on, men offer me drinks and not vice versa.”

The man smirked. “Oh, I was planning to do that, but, apparently, I've been turned invisible to the bartender and, to survive, I have to rely on the kindness of the bar-owners.”

“That is a harsh destiny, there are not many of us bar-owners around, and we tend to be hardened capitalists without a kind bone in our bodies,” Thea said. 

“Uh-huh, I’m sure that your capitalistic bones are tough as adamantium,” Xander looked at her for a moment sipping his beer. “You know, I have never been good at this.”

“In what?”

“Seducing a woman. It is some sort of modern dance in which every move of the finger and toe has a deeper meaning behind it than I can ever imagine,” Xander looked at her with his hazel eye. “What’s the point of the slow dance, quite literally, around the bush? I mean, we both know what I want, so, why should I pretend that I want something more?”

Thea smiled at him, starting to like him, most men would not be that honest about what they wanted, or when they were, they were rude about it. He managed to be blunt and cute at the same time. “That’s just how the game is played at this time of the night. Wait for a couple of hours, and things will be much different when girls let their sexy beast out. Then you don't have to pretend.”

Xander grinned. “So… if I come back to you after a couple hours, I can see your beast? I’m thinking that yours is the beast worth of capturing.”

Thea burst into laughter. “I’m not sure you could handle my beast even if you capture it.”

“Maybe not, but it’d be fun to find out how badly I’d get burned,” Xander said looking at the dance floor. “Besides, Thea The Bar-Owner, I have a hunch that you’re the only woman in here who fit the profile of women I usually date.”

“Okay, I’ll bite… What kind of women you usually date?”

“Beautiful and dangerous.”

Thea flinched, that sounded a bit too close to home. Her father was training her to be a very dangerous woman, and suddenly she felt as if this man knew about that. That he was there to get her. She examined him again, this time thinking him as a possible villain. His posture was relaxed, but his only eye never stopped scanning his surroundings. 

In fact, as Thea looked at him, she realized that his relaxedness was just a façade behind which Xander was just as tensed and attentive as her father always was. He instinctively did the threat assessment for the people who came close. It looked that Xander was just as paranoid as her father.

Then Xander gave her the goofiest smirk she’d ever seen, and said, “Do you dance?”

Thea sighed, suddenly feeling stupid thinking that this man was there to kill her. Apparently, in Corto Maltese, she had gotten infected by her father’s paranoia. “Yeah,” she replied. “I love to dance.”

“Good, I like to watch sexy girls dancing,” Xander said taking a sip from his beer. “Could you do me a favor and dance for me like a stripper on the stage? You don’t need to take off clothes, but I’m sure that every man and some of the women in this bar would appreciate if you’d do that.”

Thea burst into laughter. “Not a chance for that to happen,” she said as she snatched his beer bottle and put it on the bar and dragged him to the dance floor. “And you’re going to dance with me.”

“I can’t dance,” Xander said.

“The trick of dancing with this kind of music is to grind yourself against me with the beat,” Thea replied as she grabbed him by the hips and started to grind herself against his body. Momentarily the man was baffled, only standing there. Then he let out a growl and began to rub himself against her. 

They danced for a while. The rest of the night Xander and Thea stood at the bar drinking and flirting. Thea found herself having the blast of her life listening to his outlandish stories about his time in Africa. 

Somehow, at the end of the night, drunk as a skunk, Thea found herself from her loft, forcefully pushing her lips against his. The kiss sent an electric thrill throughout her entire body, the intensity of passion made her growl into his mouth.

When they got to her bedroom suddenly feeling greedy and sex-crazed, Thea said, “Rubbers,” as she pushed him to the bed. “Dear God, I hope you have rubbers.”

“Never leave home without ‘em,” Xander replied.

“How many?”

“A pack, I think it has five. Why are you asking?”

“Because I just came back from a long trip with my father and it has been way too long since I’ve had sex and I won’t be satisfied with just a quickie,” Thea said peeling his jeans off. With a quick movement, she jerked his boxers down his muscled legs, allowing his dick to snap rigidly to attention. “Oh, vow,” Thea said looking at his erection and then she grinned at him. “Hold on something, stud. This is going to be a wild ride.”

“The wilder, the better,” Xander replied.

**∞∞**

Xander woke up having a splitting headache feeling a warm body on top of him. He opened his eye and groaned; his head felt as if it had been split in two. Squinting his eyes, Xander looked around. He was in the unknown bedroom, and a woman was lying on top of him. She moaned when he slid away from her, but she didn't wake up.

He got up and made his way to the window and peeked through the blinds. It was a beautiful and sunny day, and the sun was high up; he had slept most of the day away. He rubbed his temples, sighing deeply, cursing inwardly, trying to remember what had happened the night before and who the girl was.

Xander pinched the bridge of his nose as his head throbbed. The night before had been his 34th birthday and, since he was back in America, he’d thought that drinking was a good idea and after the third bar things got hazy.

He looked at the sleeping girl, remembering meeting her in a bar and that they had hit on well. He had a vague memory of telling her stories about his adventures in Africa demons and witch doctors included. The only thing he’d left out was the Slayers. Xander shook his head, it wasn’t the first time he’d told war stories when drunk. He had learned that people just thought that he was a strange guy who liked to tell horrors stories when drunk. 

Xander sighed, remembering that he’d spent the whole day and night drinking and by the time he and the girl had gotten to her home he had been so drunk that it was kind of miracle that they had ended up having sex and not just once, but multiple times. “Wild ride, indeed,” Xander muttered looking at the girl on the bed. “Thea The Bar-Owner,” he muttered suddenly remembering her name.

It took him a few moments before he found the bathroom where he emptied his full bladder moaning with the relief. He washed his hands opened the cupboard and sighed deeply, there was only one toothbrush, he couldn’t use it.

He squeezed some toothpaste to his finger and brushed his teeth with his finger. It wasn’t the best option, but, at least, he got rid of the shitty taste out of his mouth. When he put the toothpaste back, he found some Aspirin and took a handful of those before he got to the shower.

New pain shot through his head and he groaned, letting the hot water run over his body, the heat did wonders to his aching muscles and throbbing headache. Then the memories of the night before flashed through his mind, and he squeezed his eyes shut. As the visual onslaught of sexual acts continued running through his mind, Xander leaned his forehead on the tiles.

He'd never thought that he'd have it in him being so aggressive lover.

Then a broad smile took over his face as he remembered how Thea had loved every moment of their animalistic lovemaking just as much as he had.

He washed, got out of the shower, toweled, and he wrapped a towel around his waist, filled a glass of water and took the Aspirin bottle with him as he left the bathroom.

When he got back to the bedroom, Thea still was sound asleep.

He rubbed his temples and then sat at the bedside, pulled the sheet over her body decidedly gorgeous naked body and then gently shook her shoulder. “Thea?” He said.

"Yeah?" She moaned, turned her back and whined. "My head hurts…"

“Yeah, drinking does that… just to remind you; you’re naked under that sheet. Here, Aspirin will help a little,” Xander said offering her the glass of water and a few Aspirins as the blushing girl sat up holding the sheet against her chest.

“Um... thanks.” She replied taking the glass and pills.

“Don’t mention it, I have a hangover too,” Xander got up, picked his clothes feeling her eyes on him and then he turned back to her and smiled. “I’m going back to the bathroom to dress up, you can get up and get decent while I’m in there.”

“Um… okay,” She whined. “I will never drink again...”

Xander chuckled. “I’ve given that promise countless times. Some of these days I will make good of that promise.”

Thea looked at him with her big, green eyes. “Yeah… um... your name is Xander, right?”

“Alexander Harris, but my friends call me Xander, and I guess you qualify as a friend... if you want to be my friend, that is.”

"Yes, I do," Thea smiled weakly. “I’m Thea, Thea Queen.”

Xander gave her a reassuring smile. “Nice to meet you, Thea.”

“Uh... yeah, pleased to meet you too...” She paused looking at the scar on his arm. “Xander, can I ask you something?”

Xander sighed knowing what she wanted to ask. “If it is about the eye patch and other scars..." He raised his eyebrow, and Thea nodded. "It is a long story that I rather not talk about with strangers, okay?”

"Okay," Thea said.

Feeling nauseous Xander groaned, "I'm going back to the bathroom, it seems that my stomach wants to get out," he said

After he had puked his stomach empty Xander looked himself in the mirror. He could understand why the girl wanted to know about his scars; his body was a map of scars. Xander sighed looking at his scarred and weather-beaten face in the mirror, and then he traced the scar he knew was under his full beard. “God, I’m an ugly motherfucker.”

**∞∞**  


**Nanda Parbat, 2007 AD**

_“No, you are not. You are ruggedly handsome,” Eliana said hugging Xander from behind._

_“Nope, as I said; I’m… what was the word?” Xander said as he was shaving trying to ignore the pair of naked breasts pressed against his back._

_“Good-looking?” Eliana suggested._

_Xander snorted “No, I’m not handsome nor am I good-looking. Just look at my face; asymmetric and scarred, and I have huge bags under my eyes. And there are creeks in my forehead. Not to mention the empty eye-socket.”_

_Eliana giggled. “There are creeks in your forehead?”_

_“Yeah, well, the two wrinkles on my forehead are so deep and thick that they are creeks,” Xander said staring at his pale and bruised weather-beaten face in the mirror. He looked like Spike after Buffy had given him a good beating. “Really, look at me; I’m only twenty-five, and I look like a man in his fifties. Hell, I have gray hairs in my beard, you know?”_

_“No, I didn’t know that because you keep shaving your face every morning even though I’ve told you that full beard would make you look sexy,” Eliana said. “And you are ruggedly handsome, trust me on that, I’m a woman. I know a handsome man when I see one.”_

_“You’re biased, you share the bed with me,” Xander said and leaned down and washed the shaving cream off his face._

_“I share a bed with you because you are handsome.”_

_Xander snorted. “Yeah, sure, and the pissing off your dad has nothing to do with it? Just admit that you share the bed with me only because it pisses your dad off.”_

_“That is a big part of it, but I wouldn’t have bedded you if I didn’t like you. Why I’m staying with you has nothing to do with Demon’s Head, I’m with you because I like you, okay?”_

_“I take your word for it,” Xander said. “By the way, why are you and Nyssa calling your father Demon’s Head?”_

_“Because that is what Ra’s al Ghul means.”_

_“I know, I speak Arabic. What I meant was that why are you calling him by his title when speaking English? Why not call him dad or Ra’s?”_

_“I’m not sure,” Eliana said and frowned, she was silent for a few seconds. “Maybe we are just used to call him the Demon’s Head,” she said taking the Sais and throwing knives hidden under the sink. Then, using sign-language, Eliana told him that they were going to be attacked._

_Xander sighed deeply, a year earlier Giles had told him about the League of Assassins and the treaty that Watchers’ Council had with them. Twice a century Council's witches trained a member of the League, and the League trained one Watcher. Giles had asked Xander if he’d wanted to be trained by The League of Assassins._

_Not really knowing into what he agreed Xander had said yes and a month later he’d traveled to Nanda Parbat._

_The training had turned out to be hard and painful and sometimes even deadly, and Xander had realized that, even though the League’s leader, Ra’s al Ghul, respected the deal with the Watchers’ Council, he did his best to force him to quit._

_Which only had made Xander more adamant to stay. If for nothing else than just to piss off Ra’s al Ghul. And the League of Assassin’s training was a good way for him to deal with all the anger and rage that he’d bottled inside him all his life. In Nanda Parbat getting beaten and beating the crap out of someone had, sort of, become his anger management therapy._

_Picking the Kukri and Desert Eagle L5 that he carried everywhere with him Xander, using the League of Assassin’s sign language, asked Eliana, how many men there were. Eliana showed five fingers and then squeezed her hand to a fist and then, to Xander’s annoyance, opened her hand again, telling him that soon they would be attacked by a team of ten men._

_Xander sighed as he reached on the top of the cabinet and took out the silencer. Sometimes he was sure that Ra’s was trying to kill him even if his own daughter would die in the process. Which wasn’t that farfetched; Ra’s was a firm believer of the survival of the fittest, and he wanted his children to be the best and most ruthless assassins in his cult. If Eliana would not survive this, then she would not be fit to be his heir. Not that Eliana wanted to be Ra’s heir. She was planning to leave Nanda Parbat with Xander._

_Eliana signed to him that she would use the door that led to the corridor and attack them from behind. Xander nodded and told Eliana to give three throwing knives to him. Eliana sighed and gave three of her six throwing knives to him. “I’ve never understood why he insists calling himself the demon,” Xander said placing his hand on the door handle._

_“It is a thousand-year-old tradition to call the Head of the League as the Demon’s Head,” Eliana said putting her hand on the door handle at the other end of the bathroom. 'Ready?' she mouthed._

_Xander nodded, opened the door and jumped into their bedroom. Three seconds later four whining men were lying on the floor holding their legs where Xander had shot them._

_Since the League used only medieval weapons during the training, the gun gave Xander an unfair advantage, but he didn’t care. After Sunnydale had collapsed, he had learned that guns worked fine against the Bringers that still were roaming around, obeying the First’s last orders. Since he had no superpowers, Xander had started to carry a gun because he seemed to be on the Bringer’s hit list._

_A fully loaded gun was his security blanket; it made him feel safe._

_Ignoring the whining and bleeding men on the floor Xander lifted the steel coffee table just opposite the door up and crouched behind it and pointed his gun at the door. The door crashed in, and two men jumped on either side of the door. Xander had been prepared for that, and he shot the man in right, aiming for the leg and hoping that he would not kill him._

_Xander squeezed the trigger and turned the gun to the other man, but before he had time to shoot the other man was standing before him, and the sword was coming down. Xander barely had time to rise his Kukri to stop the sword hitting his head. The sword hit his blade with full force, and as he jumped up, Xander cursed feeling his hand becoming numb._

_Ignoring the dull ache on his hand, he rolled to his feet, aimed and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the man in the chest which might kill him, but Xander had no time to worry about that; an arrow hit on his right bicep causing him to drop his gun._

_‘The pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.’ Ra’s al Ghul’s favorite phrase flashed through his mind as he ignored the pain and jumped behind the armchair. He pulled the arrow through his bicep and took out one of the throwing knives Eliana had given him, and as he got up, he threw it at the bowman. Then he turned to the last man only to see a sword coming out of his throat._

_The gurgling man was dead before his body hit the floor._

_“Did you have to kill him?” Xander asked._

_Eliana shrugged. “He was going to kill you,” she said and looked around. “And you killed, at least, one of them.” She continued and pointed at the lifeless man with a throwing knife buried deep in his throat._

_Xander sighed deeply, he’d killed humans before in Africa and during his training in Nanda Parbat. Killing people as self-defense didn’t bother him as much as it had bothered a few years earlier. But he still didn’t like taking a human life. “Two actually, I shot one of them in the chest, and I’m pretty sure he’s dead. But that happened during the heat of the fight, and you could’ve knocked him out, there was no reason to kill him.”_

_“My daughter was right to kill her foe, that is the League way,” Ra’s al Ghul said as he walked into the room followed by the medical team. “You used a gun. That is not the League’s way.”_

_Xander nodded watching the medics carrying wounded men out of his quarters. “Uh-huh, but I'm not a member of the League and the gun is a good tool when you don’t have to worry about the noise.”_

_“Guns are coward’s weapons,” Ra’s al Ghul said._

_Xander gave him a sweet smile. “You remind me of Travers, he too was a psychopath stuck in the medieval times. It is a shame that he’s dead, you and he would’ve made best friends.”_

_Ra’s al Ghul snarled in disgust, and then he sighed. “Alfaris Al'abyad[1], you passed the test. Now clean up this mess,” he said and walked out of the room._

_“Do you have to aggravate the Demon’s Head by comparing him to the head of the Watchers’ Council? You know well that he hated the old Council with a passion.” Eliana asked._

_“Pissing off the authority figures is in my DNA,” Xander said. “I’m hungry, help me clean up this mess.”_

_“It is easiest if we throw the bodies out of the window. The burial ground is only two hundred yards south from the bottom of this cliff,” Eliana said. “But first, sit down.”_

_“Huh? Why? We have a mess to clean up.”_

_“Yes, but you were shot in the arm. Your wound has to be treated first.”_

_“Damn, I forgot that,” Xander said and then gave his girlfriend a bright smile. “But, hey! On the plus side: I have finally learned to ignore the pain.”_

**∞∞**  


**Starling City, 2015 AD**

After Xander had left the room, Thea stood up finding that she, indeed, was naked. The scars on the older man’s body had alarmed her. He had just as many of scars than her brother, if not even more than Oliver. And, he had the eye-patch, and Thea was sure that the patch was not for the show.

She rubbed her aching head, wondering where she had gotten herself now? Her memory soon cleared as the throbbing in her head eased. She remembered everything from the night before, especially the wild sex she'd had with the older man.

Thea snorted, she had never been chaste, but last night she'd been more demanding and sexually wilder than she’d thought she had in her. “Probably the booze,” she muttered sitting on the bed waiting for Xander to come out of the bathroom. “God,” She moaned trying to remember if they’d had safe sex or not.

She had a memory of him having a pack of condoms. Thea got up and sighed in relief when she saw used rubbers in the wastebasket beside the bed. Then her blush got deeper when she saw how many of them there were. As Thea looked at the rubbers, she found herself wanting him again “God, what the hell did he do to me?” She said out loud when she felt the heat forming between her legs, and that was the moment when Xander came out of the bathroom.

The older man paled and bit his lip. His only eye roved from side to side as if it was seeking a quick avenue of escape. Then he lowered his gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry. I… I don’t know what… I don’t usually do… I mean...” He looked at her with an apologetic eye, before turning his attention back to the floor and began to squirm as he continued apologizing her.

“Oh,” Thea said when she realized that he had heard her comment and now was thinking that she had not wanted to have sex with him. The poor man thought that he had raped her. “Oh God no, Xander. No, it’s not that. I wanted it. It was consensual sex. You didn’t do anything I didn’t want,” she hastily explained. “I just… um, kinda hope that we’d been sober… we’d enjoyed it a much more. Not that it wasn’t enjoyable. It was good, great in fact.”

“Um. Okay,” Xander said. “I’m still sorry.” 

Thea flashed a smile at him. “Don’t be, if I recall right, we both enjoyed it.”

“Yeah, but you’re so young that I feel like I’m a dirty old man.”

“You’re not that old.”

“No, but you are damn young.”

“I’m old enough to decide whom I take into my bed,” Thea said.

Xander was silent for a moment. “I’m afraid to ask this but… how old are you?”

“Twenty,” Thea said. “I’m going to the shower. The kitchen is that way, make some coffee and do not ditch me before we’ve gone through the usual morning-after rituals.”

“Bossy girl, aren’t you?” Xander asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“I run business, of course, I’m bossy,” Thea said.

Thea stood in the shower for a long time, thinking about the night before. About the stories, Xander had told her at the bar. She remembered his wild stories about demons and witchcraft and medicine men and vampires that he had fought. Thea smiled, remembering the funny story about Xander having a face slapping fight with a female vampire. At least, he had not tried to make himself look cool.

Those had been just funny stories before she had seen his scars. Those were the scars of a soldier who had fought in a war. Thea didn’t really believe demons and vampires, but her one-night stand had seen many battles. 

Thea stepped off the shower, toweled and wrapped a bathrobe around her. She walked straight to the kitchen where Xander was cooking. “Bacon and eggs?” Thea asked.

“Omelet, actually but yeah, there is some minced bacon too. There’s fresh coffee at the pot.”

Thea nodded and poured a cup of coffee. “What is the truth behind all your scars?” she asked.

“There was a time when I would have lied to you,” Xander said sliding omelet out of the pan. “But I stopped lying when I realized that telling the truth only makes people think that I’m insane and I don’t give a shit what people think about me. Bring the glasses and OJ.” He said walking out of the kitchen carrying two plates.

Thea carried the glasses and carton of juice to the dining room. She sat opposite of Xander. 

“I lost my eye when a homicidal priest shoved his thumb into my eyeball. Most of my scars I got in an airstrike in Somalia,” Xander said taking a forkful of the omelet. “But the rest of them I got fighting with vampires, werewolves, and all sorts of demons.”

Thea silently ate for a long moment thinking what to say. “I’m sorry that you lost your eye that way. It must have been traumatic,” she finally said.

Xander smiled at her. “But you don’t believe that I’ve fought and killed monsters.” 

Thea hesitated for a moment and then she nodded, “Yeah, vampires and werewolves… they don’t exist.”

“They do, but feel free to think that I’m mad as a hatter since that's not really that far from the truth,” Xander said. “Do you like the omelet?”

“Yeah, actually I do, you’re a good cook,” Thea said.

“Thanks,” Xander said. “Can I ask why a girl who isn’t old enough to drink in the USA owns a nightclub?”

Thea shrugged. “Bars and clubs are something I know. You shouldn’t overthink about my age. I may be young, but I haven’t been an innocent for a long time,” Thea said. “And you’re not that old. How old are you? Thirty?”

“Last night was my thirty-fourth birthday. I’m fourteen years older than you, so, yeah, I’m a dirty old man.”

Thea burst into laughter. “Yeah, you’re a dirty old man, and I’m happy about that.”

“Huh?”

“That was the wildest and best sex I’ve ever had. After last night I’m sorry that I haven’t bedded older man before. Apparently, you know how to please a woman.”

Xander blushed. “I have some experience in the area,” he said. “So, you said that I should wait for us to go through the normal morning after rituals. Past decade I’ve lived in Africa, so I have absolutely no idea what that means.”

“You know, the usual exchanging phone numbers and…” Thea paused looking at the older man. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to let go of him yet. He had been a great lover when drunk as a skunk and suddenly Thea found herself wanting to see how good he’d be in bed when sober. “Do you have plans for today?”

“No, not really, I’m in no hurry, I’m kind of between jobs. Why are you asking?”

“Because you are not going anywhere.”

“Excuse me?”

“I have a free day, and Oliver isn’t coming home today. We are going to spend the day here.” Thea grinned. “Well, not in the dining room, but upstairs in my bed.”

**∞∞**

24 hours later, when Xander woke up, almost the moment he opened his eyes, a smile crossed his lips, the memory of the last 24 hours fresh in his mind. He turned on his side and looked at the girl, wondering how she had again gotten him into her bed. She was beautiful and sexy, but he had spent most of his life surrounded by hot girls.

He had not taken advantage of any of the new Slayers that he had found and trained, and there had been more than one girl doing their best to seduce him. Some of them had been older than Thea and, as hot, the young woman beside him was, some of the Slayers who had tried to seduce him had been much hotter.

So, what was it in the girl beside him that seemed to make him her willing sex slave?

The girl turned on her back and opened her eyes and looked at him. “A girl could get used to this.” She said.

“Being stared at when she wakes up?”

“No, I’m talking about all the great sex we’ve had in the past two days. A girl could get used to having great sex and mind shattering orgasms all the time.”

“You’re not ashamed of talking about sex.”

“Uh-huh, does it bother you?”

“No, I’m kinda used to it.” Xander kissed her. “But you do know that we can’t continue like this? Our two-night stand should stop here. I’m too old for you.”

Thea rolled on top of him. “Let me be the judge of that.”

“I’m thirty-four, and you are twenty, biologically I could be your father.”

“I doubt that my mother would have bedded a fourteen-year-old boy. She had a taste for dangerous men.”

“Change the men to women, and you could be talking about me,” Xander said. “I bet that you could kick my ass.”

Thea frowned. “What makes you say that?”

“With one exception all my girlfriends have been able to kick my ass.”

“Oh,” Thea grinned. “Maybe I could kick your ass, but I rather admire it than kick it. You have nice and firm buns for an old guy.”

“I’m not sure if that was praise or an insult,” Xander cupped her butt cheeks. “But I can honestly say that you have great buns.” Suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he felt as if they were in mortal danger. Xander had learned to trust his instincts, and without a word, he slid away under Thea and got off the bed. Ignoring his nakedness went to his jacket and pulled out the Kukri that was attached on the back of his coat.

Then he noticed movement just outside of the bedroom door. Xander glanced at Thea and blinked. To his surprise, the girl had a sword in her hand, and she held it like a pro. Xander gave her a small smile and then pointed at the door and mimicked opening it.

Thea nodded and slide over the floor without making a sound. 

When she pulled the door, open Xander jumped at the man dressed in black. He pinned him against the wall putting the blade on his throat. Then he groaned. “Al Sa-her, does this mean that League is after Thea?”

“Alfaris Al'abyad?” The baffled man said. “Why are you in my daughter’s bedroom?”

Xander blinked and turned to look at Thea. “Really? Al Sa-Her is your father?”

“Don’t know who Al Sa-Her is, but this is my father,” Thea said. “You know him?”

Xander sighed. “I was trained by same people than your father,” he gave Thea a curious glance. “Are you a member of the League of Assassins or did your father train you?”

“I don’t even know what League of Assassins is. Well, except that with a name like that I guess it kills people.” Thea said.

“That it does,” Xander said turning back to Al Sa-Her. “Last I heard Ra’s al Ghul declared you as a renegade. How come you’re alive?” 

“I’m good at hiding,” Thea’s father said looking at Xander. “Alfaris, I know you hate me, but Thea isn’t me. She’s not in the League, she’s an innocent girl. You are the only one who can save Thea from Ra’s al Ghul’s wrath. Please, engage her.”

Xander looked at the man. “You’re seriously asking me to pretend to be your daughter’s fiancé?”

“Yes, would you do that?”

“You do know that Ra’s hates me?”

“Yeah, but he never breaks his words, and he would not break his treaty with the Council.”

Xander nodded. “That’s true.”

“What the hell are you two talking about?” Thea asked.

Xander looked at Thea and then turned back to her father. “Are you sure that she is on Ra’s shit list?”

“Yes, Ra’s al Ghul has given the order to kill my family and me and Nyssa knows that Thea is my daughter.”

“Shit,” Xander said and turned to look at Thea. “It seems that we’re going to have to move together and pretend to be a couple in public.”

“What? Why?” Thea asked. 

“Thea, a powerful criminal organization is hunting me, they have men and spies all around the world. They want to kill my family and me. I came here to take you with me because we need to run. But Alfaris is one of the few persons in the world that the League of Assassins won’t touch. The League and Council have a centuries-old treaty that says that League won’t kill members of the Council. Not to mention that Alfaris was married to one of the daughters of League’s leader,” Thea’s father said. 

Xander snorted. “That is not a point in my favor. Ra's never forgave me that I took Eliana from him. Ra’s will never believe that it was her decision, not mine.”

“He still won’t break his deal with the Council,” Thea’s father said. “Thea, if the League thinks that you are engaged with Alfaris, you will be taken off the hit list.”

Xander nodded. “He is right, as my fiancée you would be taken off the League’s hit list.”

“And knowing that you’re safe from the League would give me some peace of mind.” Thea’s father said.

Wide-eyed Thea stared at the two men for a long time. “Malcolm, you want me to be Xander’s girlfriend because it saves my life?”

“I want you to engage him.”

Thea turned to Xander. "You were married?"

"Yeah, she died soon after the wedding," Xander said. 

Thea grimaced. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thanks, but it wasn't your fault, and she died years ago. Still kinda hurts, but not nearly as much as it used to. I don't really want to talk about my marriage or about Liana," Xander said.

“Okay," Thea said. "You want to pretend to be my fiancé to save my life?” 

“Yeah,” Xander replied. 

“Thea, please, pretending to be his fiancée will save your life.” Thea’s father said.

Thea sighed. “Fine, I’ll do it,” she said and slid her arm into naked Xander’s arm. “If I have to pretend to be engaged to you, I can’t date anyone else, so you better make it worthwhile for me.”

“Huh?”

Thea grinned. “I expect you to keep me sexually satisfied.”

“What is it with me and women without any shame?” Xander muttered.

**~~∞~~**

[1] Google Translate tells me that Alfaris Al'abyad = The White Knight


	2. Chapter Two

**Starling City, 2015 AD**

Xander sighed deeply as he looked at the young man trying to stare him down. Xander gave the young man an apologetic smile, he didn’t need to be _The One Who Sees_ to know that Roy had romantic feelings toward Thea.

“You're too old for Thea,” Roy stated.

Xander nodded. “Yes, yes I am.”

“Then why don’t you leave her?”

Before Xander could answer, Thea said, “Roy, stop being an ass.”

“Thea…” Roy said.

“Don’t you Thea me. I’m with Xander now, get over it.”

“I just…” Roy glanced at Xander. “I mean, we’ve never seen him, and suddenly you tell us that you’re engaged with him. You got to admit that it sounds—”

“I don't care how it sounds or what you think about him,” Thea said glaring at Roy. “Xander, at least, is honest with me, even when the truth makes him sound insane.”

Xander sighed deeply, wondering if it had been a good idea to give Thea an introduction to the supernatural world and the New Council? As far as Xander could tell, Thea thought that his belief that he had fought and killed vampires and demons was just his mind coping with the terrible things that he'd seen and done during his time in Africa. “Thanks a lot, Thea, it really helps me forming a good relationship with your friends when you call me insane,” he said.

“I didn’t say that you are insane, I said that sometimes you sound insane,” Thea said.

“Yeah, I sometimes sound like I’ve lost half of my marbles, but your friends didn’t need to hear that.”

“They are my brother’s friends,” Thea said.

“We are your friends too!” Felicity exclaimed.

“You are loyal to Oliver and not to me,” Thea bitterly said. “Which reminds me: where is Ollie? I haven’t heard him for days. I’m starting to worry about him.”

“He’s fine, just, you know, busy,” Felicity said.

“Why doesn’t he answer the phone then?” Thea asked.

As he watched the blond giving a pretty good explanation, Xander realized that she was lying. Felicity had no idea where Thea's brother was and she was more worried about him than Thea. Xander leaned back in his chair and looked at the blond woman. “Felicity, you have no idea where Thea’s brother is, do you?”

“Excuse me?” Felicity asked.

“You are keeping secret from Thea, and you are worried about her brother,” Xander said. “I don’t know what has happened to Oliver, but you should stop lying to Thea and tell her why you are so worried about her brother.”

Thea gave him a grateful glance and then said, “Is he right? Do you know where Oliver is?”

It was the big African American man who answered. “No, we don’t know where he is, but he’s right on that we all are worried. We haven’t heard Oliver for days. We all know that sometimes he disappears, but never for this long.”

“Okay, so I’m not the only one worrying about Ollie,” Thea said.

“No, we all are worrying,” Felicity said.

Thea nodded. “Xan's right, knowing that you worry too makes me feel better. More worried about Ollie, but, at least, I now know that I'm not alone in my worry,” she said and kissed Xander. “Wait here, I’ll have to go and talk to the DJ about his fee.”

After she had left Xander smiled sheepishly at the people staring at him. “I know you that you think that I’m a dirty old man… Hell, I feel like I’m a dirty old man. But, whatever reason, Thea likes me, and have you ever tried to say no to her? It is impossible; Thea is the stubbornest person I’ve met, and that’s saying a lot. I know pretty damn stubborn people.”

Felicity giggled. “That’s definitely a Queen trait.”

“So… you met Thea in Corto Maltese?” John Diggle asked.

“Yeah,” Xander said. Thea had spent the last half a year in the South American island, and their story was that they had met there. Fortunately, Xander actually had visited the island, and he could talk about it without sounding fake.

“And you’ve been in Somalia?” Diggle asked.

“Yeah,” Xander said.

“Have you been in any other place in Africa? Places like Kongo, Liberia, and Sudan?” 

Starting to understand where the questions were leading Xander sighed deeply. “If you think that I'm a soldier then you are right; I used to be a mercenary. Name a war zone in the past ten years in Africa and I've been there.”

Diggle nodded. “How long has it been since you got out of the war?”

“Not long enough,” Xander said. 

“PTSD?” Diggle asked. 

“If you think that I might be dangerous to Thea because I have PTSD you are wrong. I have nightmares, but I'm not dangerous,” Xander said and groaned when he saw a brunette woman dressed in black leather walking into the closed nightclub. “Well, shit... here we are; talking about my past and then my sister-in-law walks in.”

They all turned to look at the brunette who came straight to them. “Alfaris Al'abyad,” she said looking at Xander. “What are you doing here?”

Xander smiled at the woman. “Hi, Nyssa, long time no see. How’s your dad? Dead and burned to ashes, I hope? I mean, we don't want him taking baths even after his death.”

“The Demon’s Head is alive and well. Why are you here?” Nyssa said.

Surprised that Nyssa used the English translation of her father’s title, Xander glanced at the people on the table with him. None of them seemed to be surprised. Which meant that they probably knew about League of Assassins. “Nyssa, does everyone in this table know to whom you work for?”

“Yes, they know about the League of Assassins,” Nyssa said.

“That makes things easier,” Xander smiled at Nyssa. “Tell Ra’s al Ghul that Thea Queen is my fiancée and protected by the treaty and the Council.”

“I know that you hate Al Sa-Her. How did he convince you to engage his daughter?” Nyssa asked.

“Al Sa-Her has nothing to do with it. When I met Thea, I didn’t know whose daughter she was,” Xander said and glanced at Roy. “Hate me as much as you want, but, what comes to the League I have sort of diplomatic immunity. As long as Thea is engaged with me, the League of Assassins will not hurt her and she needs that protection because her father is on League's hit list.”

“That explains the sudden engagement,” Diggle said.

“Yes, it does, but it works only if the relationship is real,” Nyssa said.

“Oh, it is real enough to make me smile like a fool and to declare war to the League if they try to hurt her,” Xander warned Nyssa, knowing that she’d give his message to Ra’s al Ghul. He got up and looked at Nyssa. “Nyssa, I’m sure that you have something that you came to tell them. While you talk to them, I’m with my beautiful bride-to-be.”

Xander went to Thea and hugged her from behind. “You didn’t tell me that your brother’s friends know about League of Assassins,” he whispered her ear.

“Fuck!” Thea cursed. “I didn’t know that they know about them… What else are they keeping from me? This is getting… fucking liars! Why doesn’t anyone ever tell me the truth?”

“I promise always to tell you the truth,” Xander kissed her neck. “You have the sexiest neck on the western hemisphere.”

“Trying to distract me from going to yell at my friends?” Thea asked.

“Partly, but another part is that Nyssa Al Ghul is watching us, and she just warned me that if our relationship is not real, your immunity will be withdrawn. And there is the third reason I want to do this,” Xander said, kissed her neck and then nibbled her ear cupping her breasts, making the girl in his embrace shiver and moan.

“And that is?” Thea asked.

“I really do think that you have a damn sexy neck and making you shiver and moan is my new favorite hobby,” he said. Thea turned around and wrapping her arms around his neck pressed her body against his and kissed him hard. When they broke for air, Xander said, “Christ, Thea, your kisses are damn arousing... the things I’d do to you if we weren’t in public place.”

Thea smirked. “If we have an audience who is checking if our relationship is real, it is best to make it look good.”

Xander chuckled. “Any gooder and I’d made a mess into my pants.”

Thea giggled. “Which wouldn’t have been a big loss, those jeans need to be burned. We have to renew your wardrobe.”

“Why do all women in my life want to use me as their dress-up doll?” Xander asked.

“It is not our fault, it is your fault. You obviously have no sense of style.”

“Jeans and t-shirts are classics.”

“Yeah, but you could buy jeans and shirts that fit you. All your clothes are about three sizes too big for you. I’m not going to date a man who hides his great body under baggy clothes. Not to mention… are you colorblind?”

Xander frowned. “Why do people keep asking that?”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Thea said. “Tomorrow we’re going on for shopping. Don’t worry about money, it is courtesy of my father.”

Xander snorted. “I hate shopping, but I must say that the idea of spending Al Sa-Her’s money is tempting. He loves money and making him a little less wealthy is tempting.”

“Why do you hate Malcolm so much?”

“I don’t hate him, I despise him. He and Ra’s al Ghul are worse than any serial killer. They are sociopaths who don’t care how much pain and suffering they cause as long as it serves their purpose.”

Thea sighed. “I hate to say it, but that does sound like Malcolm. But there is another side of him too. He cares about me and, in his own twisted way, he cares about this city.”

“I know, and, if it helps any, I think your father is redeemable. Ra’s al Ghul is much worse, he would not protect his daughter like your father protects you. Ra’s would feed Nyssa to wolves if that would fit his plans,” Xander said.

Thea nodded. “The evil bitch is leaving. I want to talk to my friends.”

“Yell at them not telling that they know about League of Assassins, you mean.”

“Pretty, much, yeah,” Thea said.

“I need to talk with Nyssa.”

“What is your deal with her?” Thea bitterly asked.

“Don’t tell me that you’re feeling jealous?” Xander asked.

“No, I just… dammit, just tell me what your deal with her is?”

“No deal and you don’t need to feel jealous, I just feel sorry for her. She has never lived a normal life, all her life she’s been trained to become an assassin. I believe that, just like your father, Nyssa is redeemable,” Xander said. “Besides, I think she’s gay. At least, last I heard she was dating a woman.”

“Oh, okay, then go and talk to her,” Thea said.

Xander nodded and went to Nyssa. “Nyssa, what does League want from Thea’s friends?”

“I’m here to tell them that Demon’s Head withdraws his demand to Oliver Queen and his crew.”

Xander sighed. “Oliver Queen is dead, isn’t he?” he asked.

“Yes, I just told them that Oliver challenged father and lost,” Nyssa replied and left without looking at him.

Cursing inwardly Xander walked to the table where Thea and her friends were sitting and just when he got to them Thea moaned, “Oh, God, no!” and then buried her face into Xander’s chest.

**∞∞**

**Los Angeles, 2003 AD**

_In Anya's funeral Xander had overheard Buffy telling Angel that he could not tell him that Cordy was in a coma. That angered Xander, he understood why Buffy wanted to protect him from more bad news, but she had no right to make that decision for him._

_He nodded to the man who opened the hotel's door and walked through the lobby ignoring the new slayers. When he got to the elevator, Xander pushed the elevator button. Just when the doors of the elevator were closing, he saw Buffy running to him. Xander stared at her, hoping that she wouldn't be fast enough to get in before the doors shut._

_Xander sighed in relief when the doors closed on Buffy's face. Xander didn't want to talk to her. He didn't want to talk to anyone. When the elevator doors opened Xander nodded to the two Slayers, Dominque and Chao-Ahn, as he passed them by. He was at the door of his hotel room when Buffy yelled, “Xander! I need to—what the hell? Get out of my way!”_

_Xander frowned when he saw that Chao-Ahn had placed herself between him and Buffy. It was apparent that she wouldn't let Buffy come to him. She said something to Dominique who then joined her; they were blocking Buffy's way to Xander._

_“Get out of my way!” Buffy pushed herself against two new slayers, but even though she still was a bit stronger than the new Slayers, two slayers were enough to stop her._

_“Chao-Ahn says that if your words are worthless, don't give advice,” Dominique said. “She also says that Xander needs to be alone, he doesn't need you or anyone else right now. There's nothing you can say right now that can make him feel better.”_

_When they had learned that both, Dominque and Chao-Ahn, spoke Korean they finally had been able to communicate with the Chinese Slayer and pretty soon they had learned that Chao-Ahn sometimes saw possible futures, and apparently, she now had seen that Buffy could not help him with his grief. Xander wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing._

_“But...” Buffy hesitated. “He's my friend! He needs—”_

_"No, Buff, I don't need you right now. What I need is to be left alone. Dom, Chao, thank you.” Xander said as he opened the door and quickly went into his room. Xander took a deep breath and leaned on the door as he slid down on the floor and listened to what was happening in the hallway. Dominique and Chao-Ahn told Buffy that she should let him be alone until he was ready to meet her. Buffy argued for a while, but finally, she left._

_Xander curled into a fetal position as the tears started to flow. He knew that Dominique and Chao-Ahn were guarding his door and with Slayer hearing, they would hear him crying, but Xander was too tired and too depressed to care._

_Xander wanted to remain there for an indefinite time, rolled into a ball and crying._

_Fear. Destruction. Panic. Slaughter. Death. Blood. Ashes._

_And dead bodies of the people he loved_.

_Jesse, Joyce, Tara, Anya, and Cordelia._

_All he could think was the people he had lost._

_Xander was tempted to summon D'Hoffryn to make a wish that instead of Jesse, it'd been him who died in their junior year._

**∞∞**

**Starling City, 2015 AD**

Xander was feeling terribly sad as he looked at the sleeping girl on the bed. After the first shock, Thea had pretended that she was okay. All through the night, Xander had watched her working, making herself as busy as possible so that she didn't have to think about her brother.

Felicity had told Xander that under two years Thea had lost her father, her mother and now her brother. And, it seemed that her biological father, the only living relative she still had, was the reason why she had lost her brother.

When the night was over, and there was nothing to do, the walls Thea had built around her slowly had started to crumble until they collapsed when they got to her home. The next hours Xander had held her until she had cried herself to sleep. Xander got out of the bedroom and went downstairs.

His cell phone rang. “It is unfair,” Xander answered the phone looking at the city below him. “She’s so young. She should not have lost her whole family.”

“Who?” Willow asked.

“Thea, she is only twenty, and she’s already lost mother and father, and now, today, she heard that her brother is dead too,” Xander said. “Why bad things keep happening good people?”

“I don’t know,” Willow said. “But I have good news for her. You asked me to find Oliver Queen's body and I called to tell you that he is very much alive.”

Xander’s eyes widened. “Thea’s brother is alive?”

“Yeah, he’s alive, that much I can tell you. But without anything personal of his I cannot give you his exact coordinates, I can only give you a rough estimate of his location.”

“But you are telling me that he is alive?”

“Yes, he’s alive.”

“How sure are you about that?”

“I’m 100% sure that he is alive, but I cannot tell you in what condition he is. As I said, I don’t have anything personal of him. I had to use pictures from magazines and stuff like that to do the spell. Took a damn lot concentration to make it work,” Willow said. “Do you want me to send a Slayer team to retrieve him?”

“Yeah, send a team. Make sure that the girls on the team are good. Nyssa didn’t say it out loud, but I have a hunch that Oliver Queen was trained by the League of Assassins. Why else would have he challenged the Demon’s head?”

“Yeah, sounds plausible that he’s a member of the League. Quite a girlfriend you found yourself, her father is Al Sa-Her, mother schemed to destroy a whole neighborhood of Starling City, and now it looks like her brother is a member of the League of Assassins.”

“Don’t judge her by her family. Thea is a nice girl, a bit bossy but a good girl.”

“I never judge a person by their family. And I’m glad that she’s bossy, you need to have a bossy girlfriend who can keep you out of trouble. Actually, tell her to call me so that I can give some pointers on how to deal with you and your tendency to throw yourself into trouble.” Willow said.

“I have gotten less reckless with age,” Xander said.

Willow sighed. “Yeah, I know, but the problem is that when you’re on the field, you don’t think your own safety.”

“Yes, I do.”

“No, you don’t, if someone else is in danger all you can think is to save them without caring your own safety,” Willow said. “Anyway, we got distracted… I’ll send Faith’s team to fetch Oliver Queen.”

“Send me a message as soon as they have contacted him. Better yet, make him call to his sister.”

“Sure, I’ll tell Faith to force the E.T. call home.”

“That was a stupid joke even by my standards. In fact, it was not a joke at all.”

“I know, but I had to say it,” Willow said. “Now, go and get some sleep. You are exhausted.”

“How the hell would you know? You’re in Scotland, and I’m in Starling City.”

“Actually, I'm in Chile, and I can hear from your voice that you are dead tired. Now go and get some sleep.”

“I probably should get some shut-eye,” Xander said. “Call me as soon as you hear about Oliver.”

“I will, bye.”

“Bye,” Xander said and put the phone back in his pocket.

Looking at the town below Xander wondered what he should do with this new information about Oliver Queen. After a while, he decided to wait until he was sure that the slayer team had found Thea’s brother. Xander went to the bedroom, undressed and slid himself under the sheets. He wrapped his arm around Thea and pulled her to him. He already had gotten used to falling asleep spooned against Thea’s warm body.

**∞∞**

**Los Angeles, 2003 AD**

_Curled into a ball, Xander listened to Buffy yelling at young Slayers guarding his door. Then he heard Kennedy's voice telling Buffy that she should trust that he would come out when he'll be ready to face the world. Next fifteen minutes Xander listened to Kennedy defending his right to mourn alone._

_“When he lost his eye saving my life you abandoned him!” Kennedy said. “That was when he needed you most, and you abandoned him because of your false sense of duty! And now that he doesn't need you, you want to go to him because you feel guilty. Go away! Let him mourn alone! We’ll be here, we make sure he’ll be okay.”_

_When Buffy left Kennedy knocked on the door. “Xander... can I come in? I wanna talk... just talk... you don't have to if you don't want to, but I kinda want to do this face-to-face,” she said._

_Xander got up and went to the door, three days he'd been dwelling in his misery. It was time to come out of his room. He didn't want to meet Willow or Buffy, not yet, but he needed to talk to someone, even if it was Kennedy._

_Xander opened the door. “They're still doing it,” he said, leaving the door open he sat down on the bed._

_Momentarily Kennedy hesitated, then she got in, closed the door behind her, and placed the food tray on the dressing table. “Doing what?” she asked._

_“After seven years they still see me only as the idiot boy who needs to be protected and pitied. Yeah, I've done stupid things, but I’ve also grown up, and I’ve lost so many people that I know how to get over the deaths of the people in my life.”_

_Kennedy frowned and looked at Xander. “Yeah, it really looks like you're the master of getting over the deaths of your friends. You look like shit,” she winced. “Sorry, I didn't mean it the way it sounded—”_

_“Yeah, you meant it, and you're right,” Xander said. “But that's not the point, they should stop protecting me. Hell, you and other girls are protecting me too... is there a sign on my forehead that says: an idiot, needs to be ridiculed, pampered, and protected?”_

_“We don't think you're an idiot, a clown, yeah, but not an idiot.”_

_“Why do you guys protect me? I’ve heard Buffy and Willow trying to get in, and you and other newbies have been keeping them out. You even stopped your girlfriend. Why are you doing that?” Xander asked._

_Kennedy sat down. “We do it because you took us to dinner on our birthdays.”_

_“Huh?”_

_“Well, not just because of those birthday dinners. You and Dawn kinda have a special place in our hearts. You two always found time to comfort or cheer us up. It meant a lot to us that you and Dawn took the time to get to know us. And that you took us out to dinner and bought funny presents when we had birthdays,” Kennedy raised her brow. “How do you know our birthdays anyway?”_

_“Giles brought your Council files with him,” Xander replied. “I just read them, and if there weren't a file, I asked.”_

_“That was more than anyone else did. Even Willow doesn't know when's my birthday or how old I am.”_

_“Nineteen, eighteen when you came into the house and started to hog covers from Wills,” Xander smiled sadly at her. “Yeah, Wills told me about that. Kinda funny pickup line... anyway, I checked your age because I wanted to make sure that you weren't a jail bait. I don't like you, but I'm okay for you dating WIllow. Oz and Tara were kinda meek, a bossy brat like you might be just what Willow needs.”_

_“Thanks, it means a lot to me that you accept my relationship with Red,” Kennedy said “Which reminds me why I wanted to meet you face-to-face. I'm grateful that you saved my life and I feel like shit when I see your eyepatch knowing that it is my—”_

_“No,” Xander cut her off, “it wasn't your fault, it was Caleb who plunged his thumb into my eye.”_

_“Yeah, but you only attacked him to save me,” Kennedy said. “And I'd do anything to pay that back to you.”_

_“Get me a new eye then,” Xander bitterly said and when he saw her guilty expression he groaned. “Sorry, I didn't mean that.”_

_“Quoting you: yeah, you meant it, and if I could I would buy you a new eye,” Kennedy said. “And that's how I always deal with hard things. I’m a rich brat, and I've always bought my way out from the shit I've gotten myself into. But I can't buy a new eye for you. I hate to be in debt, but I'll be in debt to you for the rest of my life.”_

_“Get used to it, we all are in debt to others, that's just how the life works,” Xander said looking out of the window gathering his thoughts. “Did you know that Willow has never mentioned about Jesse's death? Seven years and not a word about his death and she barely talks about him at all... it's like she's forgotten him.”_

_“Who's Jesse?” Kennedy asked._

_“See? You are her girlfriend, and you don't know who Jesse was. My war against evil started from Jesse's death. He was my and Willow’s best friend, for a long time there were only three of us; me, Willow, and Jesse against the world. Then Jesse was turned, and then I accidentally dusted him. The first vamp I killed had the face of my best friend, we had grown up together. We were as close as brothers, and I cannot help but feel guilty about killing him.” Xander turned to Kennedy. “His ashes were all over me, you know? I didn't wash those clothes, the ash on my clothes was all that was left of him. To me, those clothes were Jesse’s body. I buried those clothes beside his grandfather's grave,” he sat down on the bed. “And now that grave is gone too...”_

_They stared each other for a long moment and then Kennedy broke the silence. “Annabell. Molly. Dianne.... they were my friends... and... you know; Chloe... oh, God, Chloe!” she looked pleadingly at Xander. “Will, I ever get over the guilt?”_

_“I really wish that I could say that you will, but the guilt will always be there. All you can try is to be a better woman for her. You can't help Chloe anymore, but you can hope that where ever she is, she's watching, and you're making her proud. Maybe then, when you die, she'll tell you that she forgave you. Or at least that you did well. I hope that when I die all the people who died during Graduation and during the Sweet thing and Anya and Jesse... I hope that I'll meet them after my death and all of them will tell me that I did well...” Xander looked at the ceiling. “I try, God, how I try to be a good man!”_

_“If it helps any, I think that you are a good man, a strange but a good man,” Kennedy said._

**∞∞**

**Starling City, 2015 AD**

An annoying bird buzzed inside Thea's head. It just would not go away. The bird was singing like it was drowning. She groaned when she realized that it was the phone. Then she realized that her back was pressed against a warm body.

She rubbed his eyes and when she tried to get up a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back to bed and against the warm body. “Too early to get up,” A deep voice grunted.

A broad smile took over her face when Thea remembered who was in her bed.

Ignoring the phone, Thea rolled on her back and looked at the man in bed with her. Thea smiled at Xander and wiped the lock of his hair behind his ear making a note to take him to the barber. Then she kissed him. “Good morning,” Thea said.

“Morning, I could drown into those green eyes of yours. I know only one other girl with as big and beautiful green eyes as you have and she's my best friend and—”

Thea kissed him hard and deep to make him stop talking about another woman’s eyes. “Stop talking about other women’s eyes. Will you cook me breakfast?”

“Yeah, I can do that, but I’ll take a shower first, and you don’t need to feel threatened by Willow. She’s like a sister to me, and she’s also gay,” Xander paused when her phone started to ring again. “You should answer your phone.”

Thea sighed and took her cell phone. It was an unknown number. “Thea Queen,” she answered.

“Thea, hi, I know—”

“Oliver!” Thea yelped. “I was told that you are dead!”

“I’m not dead, but I’m… it is a long story that I’ll tell when I get back home,” Oliver said. “So… how are you?”

“Engaged,” Thea found herself saying. She wasn’t sure why she had said that.

“What?”

“I’m engaged to a man older than you.”

“What? How old is he?”

“Older, much older than I am and that translates as: he’s great in bed,” Thea said sitting on the edge of the bed. “And just to remind you… I’m legally adult, and you cannot dictate whom I date.”

“Thea… who is he?”

“You don’t know him,” Thea said. “And since we’re asking personal questions… Why the hell did you go and challenge the Head of the League of Assassins?”

The line was silent for a pregnant moment. “Where did you hear about the League of Assassins?”

“Not from you, that’s for sure. I’d thought that it might’ve been a good idea to tell me that a bunch of assassins want me dead but no-oo, my big brother decided to keep that from me. You decided that I don’t deserve to know the truth. Like always, you kept things from me.”

“Thea…”

“I’m starting to hate my name, at least, when it is said with that condescending tone you always use.”

“Thea, I kept things from you to protect you.”

“Right, of course, you did. Keeping things from other members of the family worked so fucking well with mom and dad, didn’t it? Don’t answer to that, I’m sure that in your twisted mind it was a good thing that they kept things from us.” Thea said. “And you wonder why I left? Why I spend half a year in Corto Maltese? Fuck you, Oliver Queen.”

“Thea, why are you so agitated?” Oliver asked.

“In the past two weeks, I have learned a lot about my family. About my biological father and about you. Things that I haven’t been told. Huge things that have been kept from little Thea! Fuck you, Ollie! Fuck you and your habit of lying to me! You’re a member of the League of Assassins, aren’t you?”

“No! I’m not an assassin. What makes you think that?”

“Why else would you challenge their leader?”

Again, there was a long pause before Oliver said, “To protect you. As you said, they wanted you dead.”

“Well, I’m off the League’s hit list now, and I’m protected by my fiancé. You can quit being my protector.” Then, realizing how childish lashing out like that to her brother whom she had thought to be dead was, Thea took a few calming breaths and said, “Ollie, I spent most of the last night crying over your dead body. You can’t imagine how happy I am to hear that you are alive. You are coming home, right?”

“Yeah, someone sent a team of women to bring me home. I’m using their leader’s satellite phone to call you.”

“A team of women?”

“Yeah, it’s strange. They all are women, but they are professional and know what they’re doing. It’s kinda like being saved by Charlie’s Angels.”

Thea looked at her phone for a moment. After Xander had called his friends to tell about the reason behind their engagement Xander had asked permission to tell her about the organization he worked for, and it had stuck into her mind that most of their field teams were women. “I think I know who sent them. Wait for a minute.” She said and then yelled, “Xander!” When nothing happened, she yelled his name again.

Xander came out of the bathroom and asked, “What?”

Thea gulped, looking at the dripping wet man. His muscles glistening and foam slowly sliding down his body. He looked like one of the hunks from her teenage masturbation material. Then she shook her head. “Did you know that Ollie is alive, and did you send a team to get him?”

“Oh, shit, I forgot to tell you when I woke up,” Xander said. “Last night my friend called, she had located Oliver, and she was sure that Oliver was alive, but she could not tell in what condition he was. You had just fallen asleep, and I decided to let you sleep and tell you when you wake up. Then we woke up, and the phone rang.”

“Okay, I can understand why you wanted me to sleep,” Thea said and then put the phone back on her ear. “My fiancé sent the team to fetch you.”

“He has a team of highly trained warrior women, and he can keep you safe from the League of Assassins…” Oliver paused. “Who the hell is this guy?”

“That’s not your problem, just be glad that he sent them and come home safely. And, please, do not try to seduce any of the girls. They’re there to save you. They are not for your entertainment.” Thea said and hung up. She then went to the bathroom where Xander was toweling himself. “Next time, tell me news like that the first thing we wake up.”

“Sorry, I really forgot,” Xander said. “Thea, what do you think about us?”

“About us?”

“Yeah, do you think that this our thing could be something more than just, admittedly great, sex?”

Thea looked at him, she had no idea where their relationship was heading. But she knew that it was heading somewhere, even though she couldn't quite put her finger on where that was. During their time together Xander had given her more emotional support than anyone except her mother and he had not asked anything in return.

Thea sighed, everything in her life was happening too fast, and she was so confused. Thea looked at Xander, she had felt safe waking up in his embrace. She felt safe with him and, for now, it was enough. “Well, shit,” Thea said, realizing that she wanted to get serious with him. She wanted to try what would come out of it. “I don't know if this can be more than great sex, but I want to see where this is going.”

**~~∞~~**


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we learn where the title of the story comes from and why Xander is so nonchalant about killing humans. Yes, part of it is that he's seen what kind of monsters humans can be, but that is just _part_ of it...

**Khartoum, The Republic of the Sudan, 2009 AD**

_Xander caught the attacking man’s wrist, tucked it up under his own arm and brought his arm down fast. The guy's wrist broke with a snapping sound, and he let out a scream. To silence him, Xander smashed an open fist up and under the nose of the man, shoving his nose into his head. The guy’s sword clattered to the walk. Xander picked it and keeping his eyes on the six remaining men backed to the end of the narrow alley._

 _He had no way out the dead-end except through the men who had attacked him. At first, Xander had thought them to be just street thugs. But as he had fought them, they had been quiet, issuing only commands to each other. They did not try to taunt or scare him like street thugs would have done._

_They had the air of professionals who were doing a job they had been hired to do._

_And it seemed that they were hired to kill him._

_Which meant that they would not run away from this battle._

_When one of the thugs threw a knife at him, Xander's right arm whipped forward and caught the knife out of the air and then threw the blade back at the man. It sunk deep into the man’s throat. Xander smiled as the man dropped on the ground. He still was baffled that after Ra's training he could do things like that. It made him feel like he was a superhero._

_When the remaining thugs approached him, Xander nodded approvingly; they kept enough distance from each other to have room to fight, but they didn’t leave room for him to get through their line and escape the alley._

_Then a sword whipped through the air and Xander ducked under it and cut the throat of the swordsman. As the dying man fell on the ground, Xander decided that enough was enough. Moving the sword to his left hand, Xander reached into his side pocket and pulled out an air pistol._

_Twenty-six seconds later, Xander had killed all of them except the person who was lurking in the shadows._

_“This may look a toy gun, but the pellets are poisonous. Each pellet will kill a human, and this gun has twenty-four of them left and, as you can see, I hit the bullseye... well, the human eye, to be exact, every time I pull the trigger,” Xander said, speaking Arabic, pointing the gun at the darkness. “I know you are there. You can come out now.”_

_A brunette woman in her late twenties came out of the shadows. “Alexander, we can speak English. I’m Talia al Ghul,” she said, looking at the men lying on the ground. “You did not fight most of them, you just used a gun and poisonous ammo.”_

_“Christ! What the hell is wrong with you al Ghul's? Why do all of you hate guns so much? Guns are great tools. I fight dirty when it is needed, and you cannot deny that air gun with deadly pellets is a very effective way to kill people from close range,” Xander said._

_“You are right, your way was a very effective and quiet way of killing people, and I'm not against using modern guns. Sometimes they are useful,” Talia said opening her jacket and showing that she too was carrying a gun._

_“Finally a member of al Ghul family with some common sense,” Xander said. “Liana has told me about you; you’re her older sister.”_

_“Yes, I’m your sister-in-law,” Talia said._

_“Liana and I are not married.”_

_“But you are engaged, aren’t you?”_

_“Sort of… I asked her to marry me, and she said yes,” Xander said. “But I haven't even bought the ring yet.”_

_“Doesn't matter, in our culture proposing her is a legally binding promise to marry her and if Demon's head gave his blessing for your union you two are married,” Talia said_

_“Okay, then we're married since Ra's was pissed at me for not asking him first but he gave his blessing, albeit reluctantly, and I think he's still pissed at me,” Xander said, looking at the bodies lying on the ground. “These were your men, weren’t they?”_

_“Yes,”_

_“This was some sort of a test, wasn’t it?”_

_“Yes, I needed to know how good you are,” Talia replied._

_“They had orders to kill me, didn’t they?”_

_“Of course,” Talia gave him a pleasant smile. “How could have I determine how good you are if you weren’t fighting for life?”_

_“Uh-huh, I’m starting to understand how the minds of al Ghul family members work,” Xander said. “Liana is fifty-one-years old, and you’re her elder sister, and you look just as young as her. Can I ask you something?”_

_“Yes, I’ve bathed in the Lazarus pit,” Talia said._

_“That’s given,” Xander said. “But what I want to know is; do you know how the Lazarus pit works?”_

_“Yes, I know how it works. What do you want to know about it?” Talia asked._

_“Twice now Liana has put me in the Lazarus pit to heal me. The second time when I got up from the pit, I felt like something was missing. Something crucial. Something that I didn’t want to lose. Your father or Liana never have told me what it is the Pit does to you, but I need to know; how does the pit work?”_

_Talia looked curiously at him. “My sister must love you a lot to res—”_

_“No!” Eliana said as she came out of the shadows. “Don’t tell him!”_

_Talia looked at her sister. “He deserves to know.”_

_“Tal, you don’t understand, he’s not like us, his biggest fear is to be turned into a soulless demon,” Eliana said as she cupped Xander’s face. “Please, Xan, let this go. Just… forget it.”_

_Xander looked at her. “I have to know. I feel like there is a void inside me, and I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all. I feel that… there is something crucial missing... It feels like I'm not me anymore.”_

_“No! You still are you!” Eliana said and pulled his face to hers and kissed him desperately. “You are you, just less emotional and… and… Xan, nothing good will come knowing this. It is best if you don’t know.”_

_Xander groaned. “Liana,” he said, “Liana I want—no—I need to know,” he cupped her face and looked into her eyes. “I need to know what is wrong with me, and I want you to tell me. Trust me. We are going to be married soon, I know that we both have secrets that we cannot tell each other. But let’s not keep big, life-altering secrets from each other, okay?”_

_His girlfriend looked at him for a long moment. “The Lazarus Pit can resurrect people. The downside is that when you die your soul leaves your body. I resurrected your body, but you were feral because you didn't have a soul. Then I hired a warlock to bring your soul back. You still have most of your soul.”_

_“Most of it?” Xander asked._

_Eliana looked nervously at him. “Constantine—the warlock who gave you your soul back—said that he found only part of your soul. Apparently, when you died, your soul had been torn into pieces. Constantine said that it was as if heaven and hell had fought for your soul and it had been torn into two pieces. He had never seen anything like that. Constantine only found one part of your soul. But that is enough, you're not a soulless monster, please, trust me on that; you are you, Xander Harris, you're not a soulless monster.”_

_“Maybe I'm me, maybe I'm not,” Xander said, “how much?”_

____

_“Pardon?”_

_“How much of my soul was left behind?”_

_“Constantine couldn't be sure, but he thinks that about half of your soul is gone,” Eliana said._

_Xander looked at her, wondering if it was the lack of soul that made him so calm about hearing that he had lost half of his soul. “Okay. How long I was dead?”_

_Eliana bit her lip and averting his eyes said, “Forty-eight days.”_

_Xander’s eyes widened. “That’s seven weeks! I was dead for seven weeks!” he paused. “Why can’t I remember dying?”_

_“Because Constantine also erased your memories, you didn't need to remember how feral you were before he put half of your soul back into you,” Eliana said._

_“How did I die?”_

_“We got caught in between a battle between two warlords in Somalia. You got shot six times in the chest, and you died immediately. It took me forty-eight days to take you to Nanda Parbat and put you into the Lazarus Pit.”_

_Xander looked at her for a long time, not knowing what to think. He felt betrayed, but he could understand her. If he’d lost her and he’d known that Lazarus Pit would resurrect her and he'd have a warlock who would bring her soul back, he probably would have done the same. He backed away from his girlfriend, “I need time to think this.”_

_“Xan…” Eliana said._

_“No, I won’t leave you, I love you too much to do that. And I understand why you did it. If our roles had been reversed and I'd known that The Pit can resurrect dead people I'd done to you what you did to me. So, I'm not leaving you, nor am I blaming you for what you did. I just… I just... you are right; my biggest fear is to become a soulless monster. Now it kinda has happened, I lost my soul. At least, a big chunk of it and I need time to think. I feel I’m not the man I was. I’ve become calmer and colder; I don’t feel guilty about killing humans anymore… I don’t feel anything when I kill humans, and now, I know why. I understand why you resurrected me but... you should have just buried me,” he said._

__

__

∞∞

__**Starling City, 2015 AD**

Xander accelerated until he got everything out from the powerful engine roaring between his legs. His spirit was soaring upward; he loved driving his brand new Ducati through the busy streets, zigzagging between the cars. He skittered apprehensively around the corner, barely avoiding crashing into a truck, feeling alive when flying just above the asphalt.

When facing a straight street, he turned the throttle. The engine roared, and the front wheel got up from the street as the bike shot forward. Xander looked at the red traffic lights ahead of him and groaned as he slowed down to walking pace. He hated traffic lights; they always were ruining his fun. When the lights turned green, he again accelerated, and the bike shot through the gap between two cars.

On the next crossing he turned right, he was driving over a hundred mph when the front wheel hit a tiny pothole, and the bike began to wobble. Xander's heartbeat went through the roof. He stopped breathing when the adrenaline shot through his body. The time seemed to slow down as the cars were fast approaching him. When he again got the bike in his control just before he hit the parked cars Xander had a broad smile on his face.

Adrenaline was his drug of choice.

As Xander drove through Starling City the streets turned wider and cleaner, the shops were replaced by boutiques that served the wealthy clientele. He turned to a ramp heading downward and pushed the button of the remote Thea had given him. Then he opened the throttle wide, and the bike shot toward the slowly opening garage doors. He pressed himself tightly against the gas tank, and as he drove into the garage he felt the door scraping his helmet.

He pulled the brake, and the wheels screamed and whined. All he could smell was the burning rubber. Moments later Xander grinned when the bike stopped only inches away from the wall. Feeling more alive than in ages Xander took the helmet off and patted the gas tank of his brand-new Ducati Panigale V4 Speciale. “You are a good and fierce girl, I have to give you a name that reflects how fierce girl you are.”

He then got to the door, wiped the key card Thea had given him on it. When the elevator door opened, he got in and pushed the top floor button. Five minutes later he got into Thea’s loft and took off his biker jacket. “Thea?” he yelled, and when he got no answer, he stood still and listened for until he was sure that he was alone before he went to the kitchen. There was a note on the fridge door.

**_The UPS brought in two huge antique travel trunks. I guess they’re yours. They’re under the stairs. I’m at work, T_**

Xander glanced at the trunks, in them were his battle suit and most of his weapons and other tools. Both trunks had been magicked so that human eyes and electronic devices saw only clothes inside them. He went to the kitchen, picked a beer, and then went to the balcony. 

Drinking the beer, he looked at the city below. Xander liked his new hometown, it was the first time since his training in Nanda Parbat that he lived in a place where there weren’t thriving supernatural community. Since he had no intention to leave the city anytime soon, Xander had researched Starling City and its history, and he had learned that it was almost as a corrupt city as Sunnydale had been. Except that in Starling City, the crooks were humans and not demons or warlocks who had sold their souls to gain invulnerability. 

Although, Starling City had more than its share of problems. A few days earlier a gang leader had blackmailed the city into giving him the part of the town where Thea’s club was. Which was why Xander had arranged a meeting with Danny Brickwell, the new ruler of the Glades. It hadn't taken Xander long to convince Brickwell that making sure that Thea was safe while she was in Glades was in his best interest. Even gangbangers feared a man who could permanently cripple six gangsters in seconds and had a Taraka ring in his finger.

Xander took a sip from the beer, thinking how funny it was that dealing with warlords and dictators in Africa and the Middle East had taught him how to deal with American gangsters. Overzealous and power-hungry sociopaths were similar regardless of their cultural background. Xander liked men like Danny Brickwell, they were predictable and easy to manipulate. 

There were times when Xander thanked God for losing half of his soul. He wasn't sure if he could have done all the terrible things he had done to protect his girls if he'd still been the same man he had been in Sunnydale. And if he had not done all those things, dozens of baby-Slayers would have died or worse. Sometimes the end justified the means.

Xander had just gotten himself another beer when there was a knock on the door. Xander opened the door. “Diggle?” he said when he saw the man. “Thea is not home. She’s at the club.”

“I’m not here for her. I’m here for you.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Tonight, we are taking Glades back, and we need all hands on the deck that we can get. We need you. The Glades needs you.”

Xander pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been retired less than a year, and now I have to save the world again?”

“Excuse me?” Diggle asked. 

“Never mind,” Xander said. “We don't know each other. You are a soldier, and you should know better than trust me on a battlefield.”

“I don’t trust you. But the League trained you, which means that you can fight, and we need everyone on who can fight on our side.”

“Okay, got it; you desperately lack trained fighters,” Xander looked at Diggle. “Do you love battle?”

Diggle looked at Xander for a moment and then said, “It is a thrill.”

“Yeah, it is, isn't it?” Xander said. “Explain the plan to me.”

After Diggle had explained his plan to him, Xander was ready to help him. Xander didn't like Brickwell. During his meeting with the big man, Xander had seen his minions. He knew that the gangbangers Brickwell were commanding were lazy cowards who would run away if they ever had to face an equal opponent. “I’m a violent man, and I was trained to kill and torture. Like you, I love the thrill of the battlefield. My life has been a violent one, so violent that peace and quiet feels unnatural to me. Do you want a man like me on your team?” Xander asked.

Diggle looked at him for a moment. “Yes, yes, I want all trained soldiers I can get on my side. Even if it means that people will die.”

“I’m all for you to help the people in Glades, you probably are right; no one else, cops the least, will help them,” Xander said. “But I’ve never liked people with a mission, and you are a man with a mission.”

“Is it wrong to try to make this city a better place to live?” Diggle asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“No, it is not, it just is that too many times I’ve seen people like you; people who are too goal-oriented to see the damage they do while rampaging in the china shop,” Xander said. “I don’t know if I’m coming or not but give me the time and place in case I will come.”

Diggle nodded and gave him an address and time. When he guided the man out, Xander slid the magical tracker into his pocket. He always had a few of those in his pockets, you never knew when you had to track someone down.

After Diggle had left Xander went to the two 19th century traveling chests and pressed his thumb on the lock, and said, “Rwz baladiin qalilanaan shawka,”[¹] and then he opened the chest. He looked at the red and black battle suit in there and sighed deeply. He had not used it since Eliana had died. Xander smiled at the Arabic text etched on the chest plate, his late wife had always had a strange sense of humor.

∞∞

**Krasnoyarsk, Russia, 2012 AD**

_“Jahim alrakub,” Xander read the Arabic text from the chest plate of the battle suit Eliana had given him. “Riding Hell, what does that mean?”_

__

_“Actually, closest translation is Hell ride,” Eliana said as she secured the chest plate on Xander. “Which you are; a hell of a ride.”_

_Xander snorted looking at himself in the mirror. The dark red and black battle suit fit snugly on him, and he had to admit that he looked good and somewhat intimidating on it. “Are you telling me that you are praising my sexual skills on the chest plate of my Battle suit?”_

_“Yeah,” Eliana said. “But don’t worry, no one will know what it really means except us. And Hellride is a good name for an assassin. Much better than Rosethorn.”_

_“Rosethorn fits you; you are a beautiful and fragile flower, and if someone squeezes you too hard, you will bite.”_

_“You’re calling me a fragile flower just to annoy me, aren’t you?” Eliana asked with a cocked eyebrow._

_“Yeah, annoying dangerous women kinda is how I entertain myself when I'm not being beaten by said dangerous women,” Xander said._

_“Have you ever thought that there might be a connection between annoying dangerous women and getting beaten by them?” Eliana asked._

_“Yeah, but often after they've beaten me into a pulp they fuck me until I'm more than half dead and THAT is worth getting a good beating or two.”_

_“It sounds like getting beaten is foreplay for you.”_

_“Yeah, I guess it does sound like that... maybe I'm a masochist? That actually would explain a lot," Xander said, looking at his ass in the mirror “Does this suit have to be so tight around my ass? It feels like it's giving me a wedgie.”_

_“Does it really feel like that?” Eliana asked._

_“No, not really, it actually feels surprisingly good, but does it really have to be so tight?” Xander asked._

_“Of course, I love to ogle your sexy ass during missions, and we could use it in roleplays. I can think more than a few roleplay scenarios starring you dressed in your battle suit,” Eliana said._

_“You know, someday I have to introduce Faith to you… and then get to the other side of the world as fast as I can,” Xander said and pulled her to him and kissed her hard and deep. “I love you,” he said._

_“I love you too.”_

_“If you had your eye-candy in mind when designing this battle suit I guess I should be glad that it is made of matte fabric and not from shiny spandex,” Xander said._

_“We are assassins, we don’t wear battle suits that reflect light. Your suit is made from a new kind of lightweight material Wayne Enterprises manufacture. It is much sturdier than Kevlar. Don’t lose it or break it, that suit cost $150,000, and the arm computer cost $30,000,” Eliana said and slapped his ass. “Worth of every cent if you ask me. It emphasizes your fine ass...ets and even protects you.”_

_Xander shook his head. “If someone had told me ten years ago that I would wear a suit that costs $150K I’d thought that they’ve lost their minds. You should get yourself one too.”_

_“I’ve already ordered one, but apparently getting the fiber for another suit is harder than the manufacturer expected. Wayne Enterprises are using all the fiber they are manufacturing. But my supplier said that I should get my battle suit in a few months,” Eliana said, giving Xander a long fur coat and fur hat. “We should be going. Talia expects us to be there in half an hour.”_

_Xander nodded and put the fur coat on feeling like a jerk, but in that part of Russia fur coats were popular on men, and all people would remember was that he had a huge fur hat and coat._

_An hour later, Xander smiled broadly and waved the tourist map as he walked toward the guarded gate. When he got closer to them, he pushed the communication button on the touch screen in his battle suit’s arm. “Two in the guard booth, two at the gate, well-armed,” he whispered,_

_“Four on the south roof, two at the backyard,” Eliana said._

_“Three on the north roof, three on the yard,” Talia said. “Give us time, Hellride.”_

_“Thirty seconds,” Xander replied as he got to the guards and waved the tourist map to the guards. “Hey, guys, could ya, like, show me where the peace square is? The dude at the Hotel said that it’s, like, you know, at the―” he said pretending to be an American tourist._

_“We no speak English,” the annoyed guard cut him short._

_Xander gave him a broad smile. “If you ask my high school librarian neither do I,” he said and punched the man in the temple. He spun around, and his guns spat three times as he placed bullets into the heads of the rest of the guards. “Front gate secured,” he said and shot a bullet between the eyes of the guard that he had knocked out to make sure that the man would not raise the alarm. By the time he got into the guard booth his wife and Talia had told that they had killed the other guards._

_“Hellride, start phase two,” Talia said after she and Eliana had killed rest of the guards._

_Xander went into the guard booth and put a flash drive into the USB port of the computer. He then waited until the computer told him that the virus had been loaded on the Bratva network, he took the flash drive and put it back into his pocket. “Phase two finished,” he informed his wife and sister-in-law._

_“Forty seconds,” Talia said._

_“Roger Rabbit that,” Xander said and got out of the guard booth. He jumped on the booth’s roof that was thirty feet higher than the house itself. He shot the grappling arrow just above the main entrance of the mansion and then attached the wire to the lamppost beside the guard booth._

_“Ten seconds,” Talia said in his ear._

_Holding the gun on his right hand, Xander grabbed the sheave with his left hand and jumped off the roof of the guard booth. He crashed the feet first on the window and rolling on the floor kept shooting anything that moved. Five seconds later he got out of the room leaving behind three dead men and one very dead Lenin bust. He'd hated those busts since he'd visited Moskow, they reminded him of the creepy body of Lenin he'd seen in his mausoleum._

_Xander shot the next four men he faced on the corridor, thinking that it was too easy. The guards reacted slower than a sloth. Not to mention that, instead of shooting at him, they spent precious time staring at him like he had two heads. He had more than enough time to kill them. None of them had managed to pull the trigger before he had placed bullets in their heads and hearts._

_Xander wasn’t used to people being so unprofessional._

_Six dead guards later Xander leaned on the wall and whispered. “Clear.”_

_“Clear,” Eliana replied. “Demon, the first floor is cleared.”_

_“The second floor cleared,” Talia said. “Hellride, Rosethorn, leave.”_

_Xander glanced at Talia as she came down the stairs. “Are you sure, Demon?” he asked. “There are more guards at the basement, and they’re holding him down there.”_

_“I’m sure I can handle the guards in the basement. I don’t want Oliver to see you. To gain his respect and trust, I need him to think that I did this all by myself,” Talia gave him one of her rare smiles. “You were a good student; your training is over.”_

_“My training is over?” Xander asked._

_“Yes,” Talia said._

_“Really? Are you sure that my training is over?” Xander asked in disbelief. Talia had been even more demanding trainer than Ra’s al Ghul, and after six months of training, he had been sure that he would never be good enough to graduate._

_“Stop talking and ran away from the Demon before she changes her mind,” Eliana said in his ear. “Hellride, we’re leaving Russia tonight. We’re going to get officially married in Hawaii and then we’re going to have a honeymoon. It’ll be just you and me. No contracts, no demons, or slayers or witches or assassins or anything remotely work-related. Only you, me and a bed. Maybe a sunny beach too.”_

_Xander grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”_

∞∞

**Starling City, 2015 AD**

Xander, dressed in his battle suit, stood on top of a gargoyle, just as still and silent as the stone figure under his feet. He grimly looked at the backdoor of Thea’s club, Verdant, wondering why John Diggle had spent three hours in there. As far as he knew Diggle didn’t work there. He glanced at the touch screen on his arm. It still said that the tracker he’d put into Diggle’s pocket was in the nightclub.

Xander had dealt with more than a few warlords, and he knew how their minds worked, and he knew that if left alone Brickwell would do what he wanted, and usually, that meant that innocent people got hurt. He had come to help Diggle for the same reason he had started to help Buffy; to save innocent lives. As he realized how shallow that had sounded even in his own ears, Xander sighed deeply. He could create as many excuses for his actions as he wanted, but the truth was that he missed the thrill of the battle. Eleven months of peace and quiet, and he was bored to death. 

He needed to let out some steam. 

When the door opened, Xander tilted his head when he saw who came out of the nightclub. Apparently, Thea’s friends were Starling City’s costumed heroes. Xander shot the wire out of the baton in his hand and swung himself down, landing in front of the Van. Diggle aimed a gun at his head, and the guy in red was pointing him with an arrow.

“Who are you?” The guy in red asked.

“Hellride,” Xander said blinking as he heard his own voice. He had forgotten that the magical gizmo that scrambled his voice made him sound like he was dying on throat cancer. He pushed the button that opened the grappling hook and rewinded the wire into his baton. Xander loved Willow's magical gizmos.

Diggle looked into his eyes and then lowered his weapon. “You have a glass eye. You are Harris.”

“Don’t use that name when I’m in this suit,” Xander said cursing inwardly; making a note to find a witch who could cast a glamour on the glass eye so that it would look real. “Like I said, my name is Hellride.”

“Noted,” Diggle said. “How did you find me here?” 

“After visiting guys like me, you should check your pockets for trackers. Better yet, have a bug detector at the door of your HQ,” Xander said. “Which reminds me, I’d like to get my tracker back.” 

Diggle dug his pockets and sighed and raised the crystal tracker he found from his pocket. “Damn,” he said and tossed it to Felicity. “No, Felicity will check it first.”

Xander shrugged. “I have more where that came from, but I’d like to get it back.”

“You will get it back after Felicity has checked it,” Diggle repeated. “These are Black Canary, and Arsenal.”

“And I’m Felicity,” Felicity said, waving her hand.

Xander chuckled. “I know, Diggle just said your name.”

Felicity blushed. “Oh, sorry, I wasn’t really listening, I was thinking how can you fit all those muscles under that tight leather outfit and then I started to wonder if those muscles are painted on your suit and I thought that I should touch your pecs to make sure they're real and then I…” her blush got deeper. “Uh, I’m gonna stop talking now.”

“I like babbling geniuses, they are cute,” Xander said, “you should meet my best friend. She’s a babbling genius too, only redhead and not a blond.” 

“I’m not really a blond, I’m actually—” Felicity said.

“Batons and swords. What else do you have?” Arsenal cut her short looking at the batons attached on Xander’s legs and the Kukris and quiver on his back. "And why do you have a quiver full of arrows when you don't have a bow?"

“Why would I tell you how well armed I am?” Xander asked.

“We’re on the same side,” Diggle said.

“For now,” Xander said. “Someday, I might have to fight you, so it is best to keep some secrets.”

“Paranoid, eh?” Arsenal said.

“Is it paranoia if they are out to get you?” Xander asked. 

“Are they out to get you?” Diggle asked. 

“Yes, although, most of my enemies either are dead or they believe that I'm dead,” Xander said. “Shouldn't we be going?”

They got into the Van, and the ride was silent. The blond woman kept staring at Xander. He could see the tension in her shoulders getting worse and worse closer to their destination they got. But he knew better than tell her to relax. She now was loaded with adrenaline and telling her to calm down would only piss her off.

When Diggle parked the Van, the street was empty. 

“I'm scared,” Black Canary said. “Is what we're doing crazy?” 

“I've learned it's better to ask that question when I'm not wearing a mask,” Arsenal said.

“There's never been an armed occupation in history that wasn't overthrown by force,” Diggle said. “An all-out assault on brick. That's the only way to end this.”

Xander opened his eyes. “Actually, if you’d give me twenty-four hours, I can end this occupation without a hassle.”

“Huh? How?” Black Canary asked.

“I’m a trained assassin, what do you think my solution would be?” Xander asked.

Canary’s eyes widened. “You’d kill them all?”

“No, just the leaders, their closest lieutenants and I’d hang a dozen gangbangers on the lampposts to send a message,” Xander coldly said. 

“We don’t kill people,” Black Canary said.

“If we can avoid it,” Diggle said. “Hellride, this will give the people of Glades a new mindset. After this, they know that they can rise against the gangs, and that will make Glades a much safer place to live.”

Xander nodded. “To make it work, we don’t only have to win this battle, we have to make sure that the people of the Glades believe that THEY won the battle.”

“I know,” Diggle said as dozens of people were gathering around their Van. 

“These people have no battle experience. This will be a bloodbath,” Xander said to the big man as they got out of the Van.

“Maybe, but the plan is to make the gang see that we’re not going to give Glades to them and take Brick and his closest cronies down. If we manage to do that the rest of the gang surrenders,” Diggle said.

“I hope you’re right,” Xander said. “Since killing them is out of the question, I can knock them out. Tell me where their HQ is and give me half an hour to get behind them so that I can take down at least dozen before the battle starts, dozen should be enough for it to demoralize the gang. When others notice that a lot of them are missing, they start wondering if they should have stayed away from Brickwell too.”

Diggle nodded and unfolded the map and showed Xander where the Police Station that the gang was using as their HQ was. “Thirty minutes, and then we start the battle.”

Xander nodded and disappeared into the shadows. 

The Glades was full of gangbangers, but for a man who was used to hiding from monsters with enhanced senses running through streets avoiding the gang members was an easy task. When he got near the police station that was the gang’s headquarters, Xander took out his blowpipe and tranquilizer darts.

A feral grin took up his face under the mask. 

The hunt was on.

A few minutes later, when he heard metal hitting metal, Xander stopped moving and waited until he saw the movement. Then a man lit up his cigarette, offering light to two other men. With rapid succession, he blew tranquilizer darts into their necks. He hid their bodies, and then he started to hunt the next targets. After he had taken down eight gangbangers, Xander sighed deeply. It was too easy to be fun, he felt like he’d been in a shooting range. Ten minutes later, Xander had taken down twelve gangbangers, and he had only deadly darts left. He got on the roof of the building next to the police station. 

“Nice…,” A female voice said behind him, and Xander spun around and barely stopped himself hitting Faith in the head with the baton. “…ass, Boytoy.”

“Goddammit, Faith! I almost hit you in the head!” Xander growled.

“I wanted to know if I still can sneak up on you.”

Xander groaned. “I’ve become sloppy. A few years ago, you couldn’t have done that.”

“That’s what happens when you retire,” Faith said. “I brought five girls, and the Hood hunk with me. He looks just as good in tight leather as you do.”

Xander sighed. “I can’t believe that Oliver Queen still goes by the name Hood.”

Faith raised her eyebrow. “Sounds like you know him.”

“Never met the guy, but I’ve seen him putting on the hood and killing gangbangers. He’s good, almost as good as me.”

“Which is damn good, you could beat any of the newbies, Ken-doll included,” Faith said. “So, I heard that you’re dating jailbait?”

“Thea is not jailbait. She’s twenty.”

“And you are… what? Twice her age?”

“Fuck you, I’m only thirty-four,” Xander said. “Besides, you’re almost as old as I am so I wouldn’t be making jokes about the age. Where are the girls?”

“Behind the enemy lines. The gangbangers will be squeezed between locals and my girls.”

Xander shook his head. “No, tell them just to watch unless the gangbangers are going to win the battle.” 

“Why?” Faith asked.

“I think that Diggle is more right than he thinks he is. The good people of the Glades need this. They need to learn that when they unite, they are a force to be reckoned,” Xander said, “tell girls to stay away unless the good people of Glades are going to lose.” 

“Got it,” Faith said and pushed her earpiece. “Stay away from the battle unless the gang is getting the upper hand, then we can join…” she listened for a moment. “No, Steph, stay out of the battle until I give a command to attack. That is an order, do you understand?” Faith was silent for a moment, and then she grinned at Xander. “Some of the newbies are just as stubborn as I used to be and some of them are as cocky as Kenn-doll used to be before the reality hit her in the head. But they’re staying out of the battle.”

“Thanks,” Xander said, leaning over the roof to look down.

“You know, Xan, I’m kinda jealous of the Jailbait,” Faith said, smacking him on the ass. “You have damn good buns. Best leather-covered male ass I’ve seen in ages.”

“It’s not leather,” Xander said and sighed deeply. “You are going to call Thea Jailbait from now on, aren’t you?”

“Yep, it kinda fits, I mean, Boytoy and Jailbait sound good together. Yeah, she'll be Jailbait unless you figure out a better nickname for her?”

“Queen T?”

“Nope.”

“She owns a successful nightclub that hires top-notch DJ's and she can give you VIP treatment in there, free snacks and drinks included..”

“Come to think of it, Queen T has a nice ring to it.” Faith said.

“I figured you’d see the light,” Xander said when a huge man came out of the police station followed by two bodyguards, Arsenal shot at the police car he was going to. While Brick bantered with Arsenal and Black Canary Xander got down to the street followed by Faith. Hiding into the darkness he watched as the gang members passed them by only a few feet away. “You know, I kinda miss vampires and demons. Hiding from these guys is way too easy.” Xander said after the last gangbanger had passed them by.

“Uh-huh, gangbangers are too stupid to be good gangsters. They don’t even make good vamps. It kinda seems like stupider, you are stupider you become after you crawl out the grave.” Faith said.

“Thank God that it doesn’t work the other way around; the smart guys don’t get smarter when turned,” Xander said. 

“I heard that Cordy's second in the High School... what was her name?” 

“Harmony,” Xander said. 

“I heard that Harmony did get smarter after she was turned,” Faith said. 

“True, but it doesn't mean she's a genius now,” Xander said. “Okay, let’s get this show on the road. Find a high place and watch the battle but don’t interfere unless you’re sure we will lose.”

“Got it, Xan,” Faith said and disappeared into the shadows. Xander took out two batons and started to run toward the gang. Xander hit the gang from behind at the same moment when the battle started at the front. he knocked out two men and then he was facing Brickwell, the leader of the gang. 

“Damn, yet another costumed asshole,” the man said, pulling his arm back for the hit. “Really, haven’t you heard that Halloween is over?” punching Xander who ducked under his arm and struck him in the femoral artery with the baton as he passed the man by. To Xander’s surprise, the man didn’t drop down as he should have. Apparently, Brickwell was something more than just a human. Ignoring him, Xander then swept off the feet of a guy swinging baseball bat. The guy fell on his back, and Xander slammed the baton to his forehead.

Dancing around the gangbangers, Xander kept hitting them with his batons, breaking kneecaps, arms, legs, and hands. The purpose of his actions wasn’t to kill the gangsters but to hurt the enemy fighters. The crippled gang members he left behind would be easy targets for the untrained people fighting on his side. Beating up the gangbangers would give the good people of Glades a lot of sense of self-worth.

Soon Xander noticed that the gang was losing. Now was the time to start seriously cracking some skulls. Again, a feral grin took over his face when he picked his target; Brickwell, the leader of the gang. He was going to break more than a few of the big man’s bones. As Xander ran toward Brick, the big man slammed a masked man against the car and placed a powerful jab on his face. Realizing that he would not get to them before Brick would have killed the other man Xander pushed the button on his baton. As it magically transformed into a longbow, with the free hand, he picked an arrow from the quiver on his back. Xander let his muscle memory take over, aimed and released the arrow at the same moment when Brickwell glanced at him and raised his arm. The big man cried out in pain when the arrow pierced his arm. 

Brickwell glanced at Xander and then, surprisingly fast for his size, ran away. Xander followed the gang leader to the alley. A few moments later he saw Malcolm Merlyn knocking Brickwell down. Knowing that the gang leader would have no chance against Al Sa-Her, Xander put his weapons away and crossing his arms over his chest leaned on the wall to watch the battle. Under-five seconds, Brickwell was lying on the ground, and Al Sa-Her was pointing a gun at his head. “This is for Rebecca,” he said.

“Eh…what?” Brickwell replied.

“You don’t even know her name, do you,” Al Sa-Her said and beat the big man a few times with the gun. “Is this the weapon you used to kill my wife?”

“Everybody I’ve dropped I dropped with that piece,” Brickwell said.

Xander sighed, watching Al Sa-Her getting more and more agitated. He knew that Al Sa-Her was going to kill Brickwell, and Xander saw no reason to stop him. 

“Don’t do it!” Arrow yelled.

“You are too late,” Al Sa-Her said

Arrow pulled the string of his bow back and aimed at Al Sa-Her. “Drop the gun, no more death.”

“Easy for you to say, you just returned from the grave,” Al Sa-Her said. 

“Killing him won’t balance the scales.”

“When you have killed 503 people, including your own son you tend not to care about scales,” Al Sa-Her said.

Xander raised his eyebrow. “503? Damn, Al Sa-Her, you’ve been a busy boy, haven’t you?” Arrow turned his arrow at him. “Oh, relax, Ollie, we’re on the same side.”

Arrow looked at him. “Why do you call me, Ollie?”

“As I said, we’re on the same side, and perhaps you should concentrate on Al Sa-Her… I mean, Merlyn? He’s about to kill the poor bastard.” Xander said.

Arrow turned back to Al Sa-Her. “Killing him won’t bring your wife back nor will it stop the pain,” Arrow said.

“You don’t understand! If I had taken care of him back then, it could all be different. The league, the undertaking, Tommy... Every choice I have made since my wife died!” Al Sa-Her yelled.

“Make a different choice now..." Arrow said, "for Thea.”

“Thea will never forgive me,” Al Sa-Her said.

“She’s already forgiven you,” Xander said. 

“What?” Al Sa-Her said. “Who the hell are you?”

“Alfaris Al'abyad,” Xander said. “Thea would never admit it but she loves you, and she’s already forgiven you. She won’t ever forget the terrible things you’ve done, but she’s forgiven you. But her forgiveness is not what you want, is it?”

Al Sa-Her kicked Brick on the head hard enough to knock him out. “No, no, it is not. I want her to look at me without disgust.”

“Start giving her reasons to see a man and not the monster in you,” Arrow said. 

Al Sa-Her looked at the unconscious man in his feet for a long moment, then he threw the gun to Arrow and walked away. 

Arrow turned to Xander. “Who are you? Why are you calling me Ollie? How do you know Thea?”

“All good questions and I’m not going to answer any of them,” Xander said. “Besides, you still have work to do; the battle is not over until you show them that Brickwell is down. And then you should go to your sister and tell her who you are under that mask.”

“I cannot tell Thea,” Arrow said.

Xander pointed his baton up and shot the hook. “If you won’t, I will,” he said and pushed the button to reel himself up to the roof.

* * *

[¹] Google Translate: rwz baladiin qalilanaan shawka = my little rose thorn (Rosethorn call sign is dedicated to my Kitten to whom I once said (roughly translated), "You are a true rose, dark, beautiful, and biting.")

 **Author's Note:** The soul or lack of it is such a big part of Buffy mythos that I thought it'd be fun to slice Xander's soul in two and see what happens. Since he still has half of a soul and there's no demon living inside him, Xander isn't a psychopathic killer. What kind of a man Xander with only half of a soul truly is will be seen later in the story.

I haven't yet decided if he'll get the rest of his soul back or not. Even if his soul will be fixed he won't become babbling idiot like Spike was for a few episodes during the season 7.  



End file.
